Reaper of Souls
by Echo Fox X17
Summary: A man out of time, once on a path to become the Fifth Knight of Lord Gwyn, is freed from his chains. In a world where everything he once knew has changed, Arcturus seeks answers. In those answers, he seeks revenge. On his new path of revenge, he will find things he once thought lost to this forever changing world.
1. Chapter 1

"Watch your flank!" Arcturus bellowed, using the handle of his Great Scythe to extend his reach, cutting down several Hollowed Undead. Ciaran looked to her flank after cutting down the enemy in front of her to see a shower of blood and bodies be thrown to the side.

Looking to Arcturus and nodding in appreciation, she threw herself into the air to cut apart a fairly large Hollowed undead soldier that Artorias had tossed asunder. Ornstein could be seen in the front, thrusting his spear through several undead, while Hawkeye was grounding flying drakes for Sif to finish off.

In the distance, a raging battle could be seen. Thousands of Hollowed undead, led by the few remaining Dragons, were clashing against the shields and spears of the Silver Knights. Lord Gwyn could be seen above them, throwing countless spears of pure lightning at the Drakes in the sky.

Arcturus, surrounded by undead, summoned the power of Izalith. Throwing his hands to the ground, he pulled to the surface dozens of flumes of flames, turning the enemies he faced to ashes, and walling off the undead behind him. Ciaran appeared at his back, ready to face the undead when the wall of flames resides back into the ground.

As the wall faded, Arcturus stabbed his Great Scythe into the ground and drew his Claymore, preparing for a much more claustrophobic battle. As he pulled his Claymore from the sheath on his back, he once again summoned the power of Izalith, imbuing his Claymore with that power. As the blade ignited with flames, the wall of fire fell, and the undead charged.

"Watch your flank!" Arcturus bellowed, using the handle of his Great Scythe to extend his reach, cutting down several Hollowed Undead. Ciaran looked to her flank after cutting down the enemy in front of her to see a shower of blood and bodies be thrown to the side.

Looking to Arcturus and nodding in appreciation, she threw herself into the air to cut apart a fairly large Hollowed undead soldier that Artorias had tossed asunder. Ornstein could be seen in the front, thrusting his spear through several undead, while Hawkeye was grounding flying drakes for Sif to finish off.

In the distance, a raging battle could be seen. Thousands of Hollowed undead, led by the few remaining Dragons, were clashing against the shields and spears of the Silver Knights. Lord Gwyn could be seen above them, throwing countless spears of pure lightning at the Drakes in the sky.

Arcturus, surrounded by undead, summoned the power of Izalith. Throwing his hands to the ground, he pulled to the surface dozens of flumes of flames, turning the enemies he faced to ashes, and walling off the undead behind him. Ciaran appeared at his back, ready to face the undead when the wall of flames resides back into the ground.

As the wall faded, Arcturus stabbed his Great Scythe into the ground and drew his Claymore, preparing for a much more claustrophobic battle. As he pulled his Claymore from the sheath on his back, he once again summoned the power of Izalith, imbuing his Claymore with that power. As the blade ignited with flames, the wall of fire fell, and the undead charged.

Arcturus swept his claymore at the feet of the first wave of undead, severing several limbs and creating a small, yet fragile barrier between him and the next wave. The undead were relentless, quickly climbing over their fallen comrades. As the next wave approached, Arcturus swung his blade to the side, releasing a wave of fire that stuck to the skin of the undead in front of him.

Ciaran quickly and majesticly disbatched the undead in her way, flipping and spinning, cutting apart any enemy that dared stand against her. Using her Sunlight Talisman, she called upon the blades of the Gravelord. Red etheral blades sprung from the ground repeatedly, slicing apart her attackers.

Suddenly, a cry of woe was heard amongst the ranks, as several Silver Knights watched as a fairly large drake had pinned Artorias to the ground. Whenever a knight would go to assist, he would be torn apart by the undead surrounding the drake. With his hands around the throat of the drake, Artorias knew he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Ciaran looked to Artorias. Knowing she'd never get to him on time by herself, she called for help. "Arcturus! Artorias needs us!" she bellowed. Just as Arcturus had finished cutting down the final wave of attackers, he saw the situation. He kicked the handle of his Great Scythe and beckoned for Ciaran to approach him.

"Even together we won't make it through the undead in time. Stand on the end of my scythe. We're trying something new," he said, putting the bladed end of his Great Scythe on the ground. Without question, Ciaran's infinate amount of trust in Arcturus prompted her to stand on the scythe. Looking into Arcturus' eyes, she smiled. Unseen by Arcturus, he told her, "I hope you're not afraid of heights" he said.

Ciaran simply nodded, already knowing what he had in mind. Using his incredible strength, he pulled his scythe foreward, flinging Ciaran far and high into the air. Quickly approaching the drake, she noted that Arcturus' aim was as good as ever. As Ciaran hit the drake, the stabbed both of her blades into it's head, piercing the brain and killing the monster instantly. Artorias grunted his thanks and lifted the body off of him.

The dragons, seeing their army of undead quickly falling to Gwyn and his forces, they called a retreat. The indoctrinated undead and mindlessly loyal drakes quickly stopped fighting and withdrew. The Silver Knights let out a roar of victorious cheers while they watched the undead, drakes, and dragons flee. Though they cheered, they knew it was only a matter of time before the next battle.

Ciaran walked past Arcturus, and when she did, she said "Balcony past the Blacksmith, tonight at midnight." Arcturus smirked and made a mental note to be there on time. Arcturus was knocked over by an estatic Sif, and while he fought to get Sif off of him, Artorias helped him up, "Thank you. I know without you I'd have been doomed for sure"

"Nonsense," Ornstein said, walking toward the group "I'd have saved you just as well. Arcturus just got lucky Ciaran was there" he said, with a scowl on his face. Artorias simply shrugged as he went to check on Hawkeye. He knew Ornstein held much disdain for Arcturus, though he knew not the reason.

Ornstein leaned in and said "You'll stay away from Ciaran if you know what's good for you. You're beneath her. You're beneath all of us. Why Lord Gwyn is even considering bestowing you the honor of becoming one of us is beyond my comprehension"

Arcturus glared at Ornstein, but said nothing. He knew that, as of now, Ornstein would have the right to kill him if he spoke out of line. For now, he thought, he'd stay silent.

"You did well today, Arcturus." Lord Gwyn said on his approach. Both Ornstein and Arcturus kneeled as soon as they saw him.

"I was simply doing my duty, my Lord" Arcturus said, silently hoping that today would be his day.

"At this rate, I'll be inducting you into my personal Knight Guard by the end of this season" He said. With that, he moved on.

Ornstein rose and 'accidentally' smacked Arcturus with the butt of his spear. Hard. "Nothing of the sort will happen. Should he ask you, you _will_ refuse."

Arcturus simply sighed as he watched Ornstein storm away. He knew why Ornstein was being this way. He had been the object of Ornstein's hate ever since Ciaran had showed a mild interest in Arcturus, all because of his own obsessive, unhealthy love for Ciaran, which she was aware of.

'Well, I suppose it's no longer a mild interest' he thought, smiling at the thoughts of all the personal moments both he and Ciaran have shared in the past two seasons. And now, she wanted to meet him tonight. He could only wonder and imagine as to what she had in mind.

Unbeknownst to him and Ciaran, Smough had heard Ciaran with his unnaturally good hearing, and being a loyal servant of Ornstein, he was rushing off to tell him of what he heard.


	2. Chapter 2

It was almost midnight, and Arcturus was heading down to his and Ciaran's normal meeting place. He wasn't sure what he was expecting that night, but he was hoping that whatever was going to happen was something good.

In the shadows, far out of sight of Arcturus, Ornstein was following Arcturus. Smough had told him of what he heard, and he wasn't happy about it. In fact, he was quite enraged when he found out. He was going to kill Arcturus tonight. Yes, Arcturus was going to die by his hand for disobeying him.

Quickly making his way down the stairs, Arcturus greeted Anor Londo's famous blacksmith. The giant simply waved as Arcturus jogged past him, more focused on his latest blade than passer-bys.

Arcturus stopped when he saw her. She was sitting on the edge of the overhanging balcony, slowly swinging her legs. She looked beautiful, he thought, in the moonlight. As he approached, Ciaran could hear him. Her heart beat a little faster for each step he took. She had been waiting for the following few moments for a long time. Why, she thought, a human brought this feeling out of her normally reclusive self, was beyond her.

Arcturus walked up beside her and sat down. This is how every night started. "You humans seem to not care where you sit," she said, a bit of sarcasm detectable in her voice.

"You elf-kin seem to not care who sits beside you" he remarked, reciting their age-old greeting. Ciaran lightly giggled and pulled her helmet off, exposing her flowing red locks and her light skin. She looked to find Arcturus's eyes only to see them hidden by his hood. She scoffed and yanked it down and as soon as she did, he kissed her.

Eyes widening only for a moment, she kissed back. It wasn't the first time, she thought, and if all went well tonight it definately wouldn't be the last. Pulling apart for air, they embraced eachother. "Why is it you're able to draw such emotion out of me, human?" She asked, holding Arcturus tight against her.

"I was wondering the same thing, elf-kin," he remarked. Laying on his back, he pulled her onto him. She straddled his waist and laid her head upon his chest. Despite the armour between the two, they could hear each other's heartbeat as clear as if it were the chapel bells.

"Stay with me tonight" she said in a pleading voice. Arcturus felt a smile come to his lips, along with a tinge of guilt in his heart.

"You know I can't. If Lord Gwyn were to find out, he'd have us both banished to opposite sides of Lordran. And I don't even want to think of what would happen should Ornstein find out about us" Arcturus said, suddenly feeling bitter about his station in life.

Ciaran raised her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. One blue, one brown. "I spoke with Lord Gwyn yesterday before the battle. He's given us permission, Arcturus. He told me that by the end of this season you'll be granted the title of his Fifth Knight." she exclaimed, a broad smile on her face.

As she spoke, Arcturus' eyes only got wider and wider. He was getting the two things he wanted most. He pulled her into a deep kiss, not knowing what words to say. Ciaran returned his affections tenfold, knowing that this was the night she was getting the one thing she desired most this night.

Far into the shadows, Ornstein watched. Each passing moment his rage grew larger and more powerful than it had ever been. Tearing his eyes away from Arcturus and Ciaran moving to what he assumed would be her quarters, he went to find Smough. There was nothing he could do to stop Arcturus from defiling his love's body this night, but as soon as he was alone, he would die.

Ciaran led Arcturus by his hand to her chambers. Slowly and deliberately, she played with his fingers while they walked. Tonight, she thought, would be the first night of many nights together with her love. Arcturus simply followed her lead, not knowing the extent of what she had planned for tonight.

Opening the door to her room, she pulled Arcturus inside and shut the door behind them. Arcturus looked around and saw dozens of lit candles, the aromas of them mixing and creating a sweet smell in the air. Ciaran acted quickly, tugging at the hidden quick-release straps on her armour. As her armour fell to the floor, Arcturus turned and saw the redheaded elf in only her undergarmets.

"Well?" she asked "Would you like to help me get out of these?"


End file.
